WASHINGTON — Retired Marine Corps General James Mattis would require a waiver from Congress in order to become Defense secretary because his last day in uniform was less than seven years ago.

President-elected Donald Trump said over the weekend that he was considering Mattis for the job.

The original legislation, the National Security Act of 1947, required the Defense secretary to be a civilian who had been out of the military for 10 years. President Harry Truman sought and received a waiver for retired Army Gen. George Marshall in 1950. Marshall is the only Defense secretary who has been given a waiver, and he served for a little less than a year.

In 2008, Congress shortened the eligibility requirement for retired service members to serve in top Pentagon posts from 10 years to seven.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter did not serve in the military, but many of his predecessors had. Chuck Hagel was an enlisted infantryman in Vietnam. Leon Panetta and Robert Gates also served as young officers.

Mattis retired in 2013 after leading the military’s Central Command, the headquarters that oversees military activities from the Middle East to Afghanistan.

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TRUMP IN TRANSITION
Sources: Trump to Name Tillerson Sec. of State | 1:11

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Time_Sports

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USA TODAY

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USA TODAY NETWORK

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AP

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Time